


more than friends, not yet lovers

by jychan



Series: Fairy Tail High School AU [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Gen, HS AU, High School AU, Laxana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4489308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jychan/pseuds/jychan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>high school au | everyone else knew that they were a couple except for them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	more than friends, not yet lovers

**Author's Note:**

> Posted on tumblr, as well! :)

“Where are all the good guys?”

Cana Alberona’s bored voice could be heard along the hallway as Juvia Lockser could only raise an eyebrow over what her club president muttered. She was still in the corridors when Cana mused the said thought aloud inside the science classroom that has become the Astronomy Club’s club room. Juvia knew that Cana was not the type who would mope about men in front of her friends. She was more of a private person, despite being loud and rowdy, especially when she had already drank (yes, they were aware that they weren’t legal yet, but Cana always seemed to have an alcohol stash.)

To answer Cana’s question, though, Juvia knew that the only guy Juvia could ever consider was good enough was Gray Fullbuster. But, Juvia knew that the Astronomy Club President never looked at Gray in that way. In fact, there was a time when Juvia asked Cana on what she thought of Gray, Cana muttered gravely about the fact that only Juvia would be crazy enough to fall in love with Gray. Therefore, it was safe to say that Cana would never fall in love with her Gray-sama (much to Juvia’s relief.)

But, it did make Juvia wonder why Cana was still single. She was witty, beautiful, charming, and she also had a great personality. Plus, she could always fight off gropers and perverts pretty well on her own. It was suffice to say that Juvia wondered if there was ever going to be a good guy for Cana.

It wasn’t long when she had spotted one of her club mates, Lucy, on her way to the classroom. And so, Juvia was able to gain the courage to go inside the classroom, hoping that Cana wouldn’t realize that Juvia accidentally heard her muttering. Their usual meeting took place as the rest of their club mates arrived one-by-one inside the science classroom that became the Astronomy Club’s meeting place.

However, this time, their meeting extended beyond the usual one hour. They were starting to plan for their annual club tradition of meteor shower gazing and star-gazing for this particular school year. And so, everyone got overexcited about the discussion that they did not notice that their meeting extended for two more hours. In fact, it was already dark when they had finished the meeting.

Honestly, Juvia wanted to send Cana home. All of the girls did, but Cana, unfortunately, didn’t live in the dormitory anymore. She had transferred to her father’s home a few train stations away from the school. But still, Cana tried to soothe their worries, saying that she had the strength to defend herself. However, the whisk of honey blond hair by the lockers implied that Cana didn’t need that.

“You’re still here?” The blond asked with a hint of curiosity as Cana shrugged her shoulders.

“Yes, Mr. Obvious,” she retorted back with a snort. The blond simply rolled his eyes and leaned by the lockers, peering over her figure. “Are you going home now, too?” She asked him as she placed her indoor shoes inside her locker.

The tall blond simply raised an eyebrow. “I’m obviously waiting for you,” he answered without missing a beat. Cana grinned at his response and then, turned back to her club mates and said her farewells before walking back to the blond and started walking with him side by side.

It was only in the dormitory when Juvia realized that the blond was the Thundergod Tribe Varsity Team Captain, Laxus Dreyar.

(Plus, the fact that he also resided in the dormitory beside the girl’s dormitory.)

* * *

If there was anything that you needed in the library and no computer terminal was available, it was an unwritten rule that you could always ask Levy McGarden - the resident bookworm and student library assistant in Fairy Tail High School. And so, it wasn’t a wonder that people would ask her about the call number of a couple of books and which books contained information they needed for class, especially since some members of the Thundergod Tribe varsity team (namely Gajeel Redfox and Natsu Dragneel) would break their computers by accident, of course. One day, a familiar face, but an unusual library visitor surprised Levy. While Cana was a welcomed visitor, but she wasn’t very keen on reading books, Levy noticed.

“Hi, Levy! Beautiful day, isn’t it?” Cana greeted in a whisper, passing by the green-haired girl. Levy smiled back in return, knowing that she wasn’t allowed to speak in the library. There were rules to follow, especially since she was a student library assistant. Still, she was anticipating on which book Cana needed, but, Cana seemed to know which books she needed and actually walked up to a shelf, which contained the books she needed for research, maybe? Or a paper? Levy wasn’t exactly sure. Then, it dawned to Levy that the shelf contained books related to meteor showers and so, it was obviously research for the Astronomy Club. Levy hummed in approval. Most people would actually just sleep in the library, but here was Cana actually reading a book!

But, of course, Cana was already starting to doze off, slowly jerking once in a while, especially if she dozed off, too long. In fact, Levy was already starting to consider the option to sit beside Cana, since it seemed that Cana needed to read the books. The annual meteor shower gazing and star-gazing of the Astronomy Club was nearing and it was pretty obvious that Cana had to read up on meteor showers, stars and other heavenly bodies. Levy could probably poke the brunette lightly so that she wouldn’t make so much noise when she woke up.

However, all plans to wake her up disappeared into thin air when the team captain of Gajeel’s team sat beside Cana. He lightly covered her mouth with his handkerchief and began to shake her to wake her up. Cana did stir slowly as her eyes opened slightly. Like what the blond had anticipated, Cana was groaning, forgetting the fact that she was in the library. Yet, one look from the blond had Cana look around her surroundings. She gave a sheepish smile as the handkerchief was placed down. She turned to Levy’s direction and mouthed a quick apology and a bow before turning back to her books. Now, with the male blond by her side, someone would give Cana a quick nudge to keep her awake when she was starting to doze off.

Levy somehow wished her relationship with Gajeel was somewhat similar.

(After a few days, however, Levy found out that they weren’t even together.)

* * *

Leo was honestly stoked that day, finally receiving a ‘yes’ to a date from Aries on the weekend. But, he wasn’t excited for the time when he would have to break up with all the girls he had been seeing. His womanizing days were over, yet, he was actually fine with being tied up to only one girl. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure he was going to get slapped, at least, four times that day.

And yes, he did get slapped four times that afternoon. Plus, one punch to his gut and a kick to his shin.

“It’s worth it when you’ve finally found that one girl you decide you want to be with for the rest of your life. The pain is all worth it,” he told one of his closest friends, Cana Alberona. She was the one stitching him up since he didn’t want anyone else to know how he got those injuries. As far as he was concerned, he was beaten up by guys from another high school. And that was just the story.

Cana’s response to his words of wisdom? The most unladylike snort he has ever heard in his entire life.

“Hey! I was serious!” He grumbled as Cana muddled up his hair with her hand. He protested at once, while Cana rolled her eyes.

“You’re just getting your first serious girlfriend. That’s what it is, Loke,” she replied with an amused tone, referring to him with his old nickname. “Take care of Aries. Won’t you? She’s a pretty girl and one of the meekest members in the Astronomy Club. I swear, Loke, the moment you mess this up, the Astronomy Club is going to go after you and do much worse compared to the injuries you got today, plus, we’ll make sure you can’t make a cover story for it,” she warned him with a dark tone as he swallowed nervously and nodded.

Honestly, he had no reason to be nervous because he wasn’t going to cheat on Aries. But, he couldn’t help protesting. “Hey! I was your friend first!”

Cana chuckled, nodding in agreement. “That’s true. But, girls stick with girls. Vaginas over penises,” she grinned as he rolled his eyes, but still nodded in agreement, deciding that it was best not to argue back. They later parted ways as club meetings were about to start and cleaning period had already finished. He stared at her leaving figure as Leo mused inwardly on whether he was going to do the same thing soon to whomever Cana was going to date. Or perhaps, one of the girls was going to tell the same thing to the guy.

Boy, he was excited for that day.

(Yet, looking at how Cana was talking seemingly intimate with a guy made him realize that it was going to be difficult to warn the guy, especially if the guy Cana was going to date in the near future was none other than Laxus Dreyar.)

* * *

Ezra Scarlet sighed for the umpteenth time that day.

She was currently in a meeting with all the club presidents in Fairy Tail High School. They were giving different pitches on different club projects for the year because they were going to divide the budget that the school administration decided to give.

And of course, the best club pitch was going to get the biggest portion of the budget.

As soon as the president of the Sculpting Club, Gray Fullbuster, finished, Erza turned to the list and realized that there were two presidents left. And they had to be the most troublesome presidents. Technically, one wasn’t the club president because Laxus was the team captain of the varsity team. Due to lack of funds, their varsity team didn’t have a special budget. Instead, they had to squeeze in with the other clubs. The last one was the Astronomy Club President, Cana Alberona (or Clive, Erza wasn’t sure if Cana was going to change her surname), who upheld the years of tradition that the said club had. Now, these two regularly fought for a bigger portion in the budget, ever since they came into power.

According to the previous presidents of their student council, budget meetings weren’t normally a pain in the ass. But as soon as these two came into the picture, it sure as hell did. Even other schools weren’t like this! And yes, she did her research and asked Jellal Fernandes, the student council president from another high school in the area.

And now, it was Laxus Dreyar’s turn to give his pitch for the varsity team. It was a pain in the ass, but, it was necessary.

“Shoot,” Erza said with a serious tone, looking at the blond straight in the eye. The blond didn’t flinch back. Instead, he had a steady stare and nodded. Erza could feel a headache surfacing. She was going to ask Jellal to see her later at the cake shop nearby both schools. A cake was needed at this moment.

Laxus turned on the projector and actually had a PowerPoint presentation for the budget proposal meeting. He was actually that serious. Erza could only blink in surprise. “The Thundergod Tribe is going to win this year’s divisions and we’re estimating that we can reach the finals of the regionals. However, we are sure that we would win the regionals with an additional budget about this much,” he said, pressing the next button on his clicker. The amount specified was surprisingly big and was going to get nearly half of the budget. “But, of course, I have the breakdown of expenses,” he added, clicking as he moved on to the next slide.

Erza nodded, looking through the expenses. Despite how expensive it was, she could clearly see how necessary it was for the varsity team. Erza wrote down a few notes on the budget proposal paper of the varsity team, something that would help her and the rest of the student council when making the budget. “Mira, please get a copy of the PowerPoint presentation from Laxus,” Erza turned to the Student Council Secretary, Mirajane Strauss. The platinum blonde nodded in response. “Is that all, Laxus?” Erza asked.

Laxus nodded and gave a smirk as a snort could be heard inside the room. Erza turned to the source of the snort and it was obvious that it came from the next pitcher. Laxus rolled his eyes, not needing to turn around to see who snorted. After all, it was only him and Cana who fought for a bigger portion on the budget. The rest of the club presidents held back during budget proposal meetings. Cana had a playful look on her face as she stood up and plugged in her laptop to the projector connector. Of course, Cana would also have a PowerPoint presentation. How could Erza not realize that? These two were always trying to gain an upper hand against the other during budget proposal meetings.

But, Erza was wrong.

“Well then, I have a short clip for everyone,” Cana said, winking at the last part. She pressed a key on her laptop as a video played. It contained shots and clips from last year’s Astronomy Club meteor shower and star-gazing event. Later on, a narration was heard.

“Meteor showers. Falling stars. Constellations. These are among what everyone anticipate during the Astronomy Club’s annual event,” Cana’s voice could be heard from the video. “However, did you know that other schools also visit the campus during this event? Based from last year, the event garnered 1500 visitors, around 500 of which are from other schools, while 487 of which were students from nearby middle schools. Therefore, this event should not only be the pride of the Astronomy Club, but the whole school, as well. And this could also be a chance for the school to promote itself to middle school students from other universities. With this estimated budget,” a considerable amount that was nearing the amount specified by the varsity team, but was lower, flashed on the screen, “the Astronomy Club would be able to hold this extravagant event that could match even the annual Fantasia Parade. But, wait, there’s more. Proceeds from this event could be used again for the next year, so that the Astronomy Club wouldn’t ask for the same big amount,” the video ended as Cana walked in front of the screen.

“Therefore, we hope that you would consider giving the Astronomy Club a higher budget this year,” Cana smiled as she gave a quick bow and ended her pitch.

“Mira, get a copy of her video,” Erza turned to the platinum blonde who nodded back.

This was definitely going to be a tough competition again between the varsity team and the Astronomy Club, but Erza knew that she had to prioritize one over the other. And there were other clubs to consider, as well.

A snort was heard in the background as Erza turned around and realized that it was the tall blond’s turn to snort. Erza rolled her eyes over the ‘maturity’ displayed by the two, knowing that these two have been at it. Actually, even from way back in middle school when they were in the exact situation, except that they were in high school now and in middle school then.

Oh, the downsides of being in an escalator school.

Erza definitely knew almost everyone and vice versa.

“The student council will post the results in a few days,” Erza said as everyone else in the room nodded. “Well then, since there is nothing else, meeting adjourned,” she added as everybody started to leave the room.

It wasn’t long after when Erza left the Student Council room and was rushing to meet with Jellal in the nearby cake shop in the area. However, she saw Laxus and Cana, walking together side by side, talking as if they didn’t notice the world around them. Yet, she wasn’t even surprised to see them together.

They had always been like this ever since that it made Erza wonder if their rivalry during budget meetings was born out of sexual frustration.

* * *

  
Freed Justine huffed, looking over his team captain, Laxus Dreyar. They were in the midst of practice when he realized that his best friend over the years was actually in a bad mood. Judging how the budget meeting was simply a few days ago, the results must have just been released earlier and his bad mood clearly came from that.

It was clear that the varsity team didn’t get the budget that they were hoping they would get. Freed sighed as he tried to tackle down his practice partner for that day. He was able to score a point, despite hitting in an obscure place. Of course, he had all the rules of judo matches memorized. It was in that manner that he could easily win his games.

“Break time!” The manager of the varsity team, Evergreen, shouted as the rest of the members nodded and walked up to the benches to drink sports drinks or water. Either way, they needed to drink something. They had been practicing a lot lately because they had to win.

“What’s wrong with Laxus?” Natsu Dragneel asked with an annoyed look on his face, looking directly to his blond sparring mate. Freed didn’t answer his question immediately, wondering if he should tell Natsu, but decided to do so.

“I guess the budget meeting didn’t go well for the varsity team,” Freed replied as Natsu scratched his head.

“Ah, is that so? Well, that’s no wonder,” Natsu commented as Freed raised an eyebrow over what the pink-haired lad said. “Lucy told me that Cana had an ace up her sleeve for the budget meeting. Well, obviously, she won,” he added with a sheepish tone.

“Tell me about it,” Freed sighed, knowing what the ‘ace’ Natsu was referring to. He heard about the video that Cana made and how it blew everyone in the room. And he also heard that even Laxus was astonished with the video. She must have been preparing for it for a year.

Freed scratched his head, wondering if there was any way to repair Laxus’ mood. In the past, whenever they would lose in the tournament, Cana would always turn up as soon as they would exit the tournament venue. She would always appear at the right moment, even when she didn’t know that they were going to compete. She would give Laxus a bit of a pep talk and would drag him to his grandfather’s place, consuming his grandfather’s alcohol stash (the principal never said anything against it.) At the moment, however, he wasn’t sure if it would be proper if Cana was going to be the cure to Laxus’ foul mood, especially when she was somehow the cause of today’s episode.

However, she did appear without fail right before their break time ended that it made seem like she could sense whenever Laxus was going to be in a foul mood.

“Hey,” Cana greeted Laxus as he was passing by her. But, he didn’t stop this time and continued walking ahead. Yup, Freed nodded, Cana was not an exemption to his foul mood this time.

“Hey!” She called for his attention, but Laxus didn’t bother to look back.

“Laxus Dreyar!”

She frowned and she started to walk and catch up to him. “Don’t be such a dickhead, Oh-Mister-Woe-Is-Me-Because-I-Didn’t-Get-The-Funds-We-Needed!” She shouted as Laxus paused for a moment and turned to her with an irritated look on his face.

“You got the funds now, Alberona. Don’t go shoving this in front of my face,” he muttered, while Cana rolled her eyes. The way he called her by her surname wasn’t lost to anyone.

“That’s not why I’m here. Now, if you’ll let me talk to you properly, I have a proposal for you,” she said with a serious look on her face as Laxus raised an eyebrow, feeling skeptical. However, he sighed and nodded.

“Shoot.”

“Okay, so, I know that you need money, but we need manpower. And that’s something you have in the varsity team that we don’t have. We have the funds, but we don’t have the manpower. You’ve got the manpower, but you don’t have the funds,” she explained as Laxus nodded, urging her to continue. “Well, if you do help us, we’ll be willing to give you half of our proceeds. And I’m telling you that our expected revenue is accurate, especially since it’s Bisca who calculated that,” Cana added with a cheeky grin at the last part. Laxus rolled his eyes, knowing that Cana referred to Bisca being a sharpshooter.

“Are you sure that you’re willing to give us half of the proceeds?” He asked, a shadow of a smile appearing on his face. Freed couldn’t believe his eyes for a while, but Laxus was nearly smiling. He blinked his eyes for a moment before turning to Cana.

“Are you even willing to be our man slave?” She asked back with a smirk on her face. Laxus shook his head in amusement and muddled her hair in response. “Hey!” She complained.

“But, what about the Student Council?” Laxus asked as Freed raised his hand, not wanting to ruin the moment, but he decided, otherwise.

“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry,” Freed said convincingly towards Laxus, who looked skeptical for a moment, but decided to trust him, anyhow. “As for now, I think everyone would be fine with helping out the Astronomy Club,” he said, turning to Cana. Laxus nodded in agreement to what he said.

“Well then, I shall tell my girls of the good news,” Cana grinned. “Well then, it was a pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen,” she said, handing out her hand for the two to shake. Freed shook her hand, while Laxus snorted, but shook her hand afterwards. She started to walk away from the training grounds when Laxus nudged him on his side.

“How will you take care of it?” Laxus asked, a hint of curiosity showing. Freed chuckled lightly, shaking his head.

“A gentleman never tells his secrets or a lady’s secrets,” Freed smirked at the last part as they were about to go back to practice. It was not his place to tell the said secret, after all, especially if he didn’t have the consent of the lady. However, he heard Cana’s voice calling out to him.

“Freed!” Cana called out from the distance. Freed turned around, a surprised look on his face. “Send my regards to Mirajane, won’t you?” She said, giving a wink with a sly grin on her face as she left for good this time.

Freed sighed. The cat was definitely out of the bag now.

“So, Mirajane Strauss, huh?” Laxus teased him with a sly grin, mirroring Cana’s expression.

Freed sighed.

Oh, how he anticipated the day when he could tell Laxus, ‘So, Cana Alberona, huh?’.

* * *

  
Lucy loved fairytales.

Growing up, they had been stories that she looked forward to every night. However, years passed and she had outgrown them, but not her love for books. Every now and then, she loved to curl in a corner and read a good book. Plus, there was the fact that she did want to become an author someday.

Therefore, she was familiar to common tropes that stories had. In fact, she could associate different tropes with the different couples she knew existed in her high school. There was the 'Princess and Knight’ trope for Mira and Freed. However, she was pretty sure that the couple had the roles in reverse every once in a while. While Freed had always appeared to be gallant, but Mira had showed him the right way after beating his ass. It wasn’t a secret that Mira was a yankee in the past.

There was the 'Damsel-in-distress saved by the knight-in-shining-armor’ trope for Loke and Aries. Just recently, Loke rescued Aries from her abusive guardian, Karen. And it was then that their relationship bloomed, despite how Loke was a playboy at that time. However, he was now reformed and was extremely dedicated to Aries.

There was the 'Boy meets Girl’ trope for Elfman and Evergreen. Their relationship started when Elfman started to realize that Evergreen was a woman all along. It sounded crazy, but their relationship started that way.

The classic 'enemies turned into lovers’ for Gajeel and Levy. Gajeel used to torment Levy a lot for being a bookworm and for being in Fairy Tail High School. However, the former bad boy reformed and, ironically, was studying now in Fairy Tail High School.

The 'Life Changed When I Met You’ trope for Gray and Juvia. Juvia was one of the most depressed people Lucy met in the past, but her life did change when she met Gray (yes, it sounded cliche, but that was what happened, according to Juvia. She even gave a narration on how the rain in her life ended.) And maybe, the same thing could be said for Gray when Gray was able to let go of his trauma from his childhood because of the blunette.

The 'friends turned into lovers’ for her and Natsu. They had met in high school and became friends in an instant. Their relationship gradually flourished and they became a couple just a few months ago. She blushed at the memory as she looked at her boyfriend who was trying to hammer a nail into a piece of wood. The varsity team was helping out the Astronomy Club in preparation for the annual star-gazing/meteor shower-gazing event by the club. Therefore, it was not a wonder why the varsity team was there.

Lucy turned to Cana and Laxus, who were talking seriously about some matters, probably related to construction and the event. Now, these two, obviously, belonged to the trope, 'childhood friends turned into lovers’ trope, just like Jellal and Erza, but was very different at the same time.

Jellal and Erza belonged to two tropes - the 'childhood friends turned into lovers’ trope and 'star-crossed lovers’ since their fate always decided to separate them. Yet, they always did try to conquer it, even if they were separated by distance. So, in a sense, they were better off than Cana and Laxus.

There was a time when Lucy did ask Cana regarding her relationship with Laxus. But, she snorted in response, telling her that her relationship with him was the same as her relationships with Gray and Natsu. However, Lucy knew that that was a farce because anyone could see that it was different.

Laxus didn’t treat her the same way as Natsu who would just grin and make Cana laugh when things would go down south. Instead, Laxus would make her cry and urge her to release her feelings through sparring matches and then, they’d go to his grandfather’s house and probably drink alcohol from his grandfather’s stash. The next time Lucy would see her, Cana would feel all better, not like how Natsu’s jokes would make her laugh and smile for a few minutes only.

Cana didn’t treat Laxus the same way as she would treat Natsu. Whenever Natsu was hungry, she’d simply give him a piece of candy, which was a surprising feat, however, considering how Cana had a sweet tooth. But, everyday, she’d always make lunch for Laxus without fail, especially since Laxus was a picky eater and would not eat anything else aside from her food. Cana wouldn’t do that to just anyone.

Laxus didn’t treat her the same way as Gray who would actually offer Cana for a walk to the nearest train station. Gray lived in the dormitory, but was kind enough to offer to bring her to the train station whenever they would leave the campus at the same time. However, Laxus would and actually did bring her home a couple of times, not even bothering to mention to Cana that he had transferred to the dormitory already.

Cana didn’t treat Laxus the same way as she would to Gray when he was sick. She would send him a simple text message for him to get well soon and when there was one time when Gray was in the hospital, she got to visit him once. However, she did cut class the entire day when one time she heard that Laxus was cooped up in his room with the flu. And it was that time when she found out that Laxus lived in the dormitory already.

Lucy pointed this to Cana, but Cana would only scoff in response that they weren’t like the other couples. Lucy sighed, unsure on what to respond to Cana at that time. However, now, her possible response to Cana just formulated in her mind, while she was trying to arrange the picnic blankets where everyone would lie down later.

They were different from Gray and Juvia, whose lives changed when they met each other. Instead, Laxus and Cana went through different manners of metanoia and it was through those experiences that they could sympathize with each other.

They were different from Loke and Aries, who had a damsel in distress and was rescued by her Prince Charming. Instead, Cana was a fine damsel-in-distress on her own and was capable of solving her own problems, while Laxus stood from the side and supported her. Because they were both equals and that was what mattered to them both.

They were different from Elfman and Evergreen, who gradually warmed up after spending time together. Laxus and Cana have always been close to each other ever since the first time they met. It was as if they couldn’t simply resist each other.

They were different from Gajeel and Levy, who had been enemies at first, later lovers. They had met when they were children and didn’t need to realize that there was a fine line between hate and love. While there was a time when Laxus did rebel, he had changed for the better now.

They were different from Mirajane and Freed. Their relationship was not a secret (well, at first). In fact, everyone else knew that they were a couple, well, except for them. And they definitely weren’t going to fit the Princess and Knight trope (not even if the roles were reversed.)

They were different from Jellal and Erza, who were childhood friends, but had become star-crossed lovers. Lucy knew that there wasn’t anything that was stopping Cana and Laxus from being together, except their own stubbornness. They were both afraid of the change, but obviously, if Jellal and Erza were able to conquer their destiny, Laxus and Cana could definitely make the choice.

Lucy sighed.

Oh, if only they would make that choice.

* * *

Elfman stretched his arms as he finished the last thing he had to hammer together. The Astronomy Club annual meteor shower gazing/star-gazing event was going to start in an hour, but there were last minute repairs that he had to take care of. It wasn’t really a problem since he would always try to help his younger sister, Lisanna, who was part of the Astronomy Club. He wasn’t exactly part of any of the groups, but he was related to one of them and that was enough for him to help out.

“Hey, have you seen Laxus?” The manager of the varsity team, Evergreen, appeared in front of him, holding a bottle of water and a folder. Elfman simply shook his head. He did not see the blond, varsity team captain in the past hour.

“Is that so?” Evergreen sighed sadly. “I had to show him some written data for some new recruits. Apparently, some of them might come later. I took the liberty of inviting some of them later. I hope Cana won’t mind, though,” she added, waving the folder.

Elfman smiled, appreciating that his girlfriend was hardworking. It was one of the qualities that had him attracted to her. “I’ll text you if I do see them. That’s a man’s promise,” he said with certainty.

Evergreen smiled and nodded. “Well then, I’ll leave it to you. By the way, you can have my water,” she said, handing the bottled water towards him. Elfman nodded and took it as Evergreen left him, proceeding to look for Laxus. Elfman decided to take a sip from Evergreen’s bottled water, only to find out that it wasn’t even open yet. He chuckled lightly, realizing that the bottled water his girlfriend gave to him had always been intended for him. He consumed the whole bottle, proceeding to walk around the campus to look for the one blond his girlfriend was dedicated to. It didn’t make him feel jealous, though. Elfman knew the reason why his favorite brunette was dedicated to Laxus. One time, Laxus had rescued Evergreen when Evergreen was younger and didn’t know where to go. Growing up, Evergreen knew that she had to repay the favor back to him.

However, the moment he saw Laxus, Elfman knew that he couldn’t text his girlfriend over her team captain’s whereabouts.

Not when Laxus was having an intimate moment with his not-yet-girlfriend, Cana Alberona.

* * *

“Thanks, by the way,” the brunette beside him said as they were in their classroom, staring over the campus grounds, where her club’s event was going to take place. Laxus turned to her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not exactly doing this for free, you know,” he replied, reminding her of their earlier proposition. Their deal was that while his team was going to help out her club, they were going to have a split on the funds.

She nodded, chuckling. “I know that, but, it doesn’t hurt to thank you every now and then,” she replied with a knowing look on her face. Laxus rolled his eyes, turning back to the campus grounds. “And I actually like the output. Your men have skills, I must say,” she complimented his team.

“Of course, they would. Their team captain ensured that,” he said with a cocky look on his face. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. He raised an eyebrow over her reaction. “What? You don’t think that?”

Cana frowned. “I think I have more than a decade of knowing you to realize that, but don’t be cocky about it, bastard,” she retorted. He chuckled at her response, an amused look on his face. “It really has been more than a decade since I met you, huh?” She asked, a look of realization dawning her features.

“Tell me about it,” he replied with a smile. He had spent a decade with her and he didn’t even realize. Time does pass by fast.

“And we’re still together as friends,” she said. “But, it did stop for a while during your rebellious stage,” she added as he winced for a moment. Of course, he had a period of rebelliousness. Everyone did in some point. It was just that he had a lot of angst at that time.

“I was not even legal that time,” he said as she snorted, breaking into laughter. He frowned, but simply stayed silent until she finished. “I’m not the one who breaks into someone else’s house and consume their alcohol stash,” he said, referring to the number of times when they would go to his grandfather’s place and consume his stash. Fortunately, his grandfather wouldn’t report to the authorities, even if he was the principal. The old man had a soft heart for his students.

“Your grandfather said that I was free to linger around his abode,” Cana protested as Laxus sighed, knowing the reason why his grandfather told her that. His grandfather has been trying to get the two of them together ever since the first time the old man met her. And he met her first before Laxus did.

“Well, he has reasons,” he said, not bothering to tell her the exact reason.

“Though, he did say that I was like a grandchild to him,” Cana smiled, turning towards his direction. Of course, his grandfather told her that. “You have a great grandpa, by the way.”

Laxus nodded in agreement. His grandfather was the one who rescued him from his father’s abusive nature. His father had experimented on him a lot as a child, but one day, his grandfather had Ivan banished from the country and their lives. Ever since then, Laxus grew up under the care of his grandfather.

“That, I do,” Laxus smiled.

“Laxus, do you think we’d still be this way until the future?” She asked as Laxus turned to her, a surprised look on his face. Did she really think of him still being part of her life in the future? He smiled, but realized something else. They would still be friends. Just friends. He sighed, knowing better than to deny whatever he was feeling.

“I don’t want us to be this way in the future,” he admitted as a horrified expression bore through her features.

“What do you mean?” She asked as he sighed, knowing that she had the wrong idea.

“I know you’re contented with the way we are right now. And I am, too, but I do want us to be something else in the future,” he said, hinting to her what he was trying to say. Saying the right words was tough on him. And he just didn’t have the courage to say it right there and then.

“Like?” She asked with a surprised look on her face. He sighed, scratching his head. There was no way out of this right now. He was going to have to tell her those three words then. Those very three words that have been itching to get out of his mouth, but knew were somehow too premature to say. Yes, because feeling that way for her for more than a decade was premature, a voice inside his head said as he shook his head.

However, he noticed the glint of playfulness in her eyes. She was absolutely toying with him. She knew what he meant, but she was trying to rile him up. He frowned at his realization. “Whatever you want it to be,” he smoothly replied, deciding to return the hot seat to her.

“Well then, I do want us to still be friends,” she decided with a teasing grin on her face. He grumbled for a moment - ’“to hell with it all” - before grabbing her by her shoulders and crashing his lips into hers. Their lips had molded into one for a moment until he had released her, only to find a grin on her face. “That’s more like it,” she said, still grinning. She pulled him back, molding her lips back with his, years of restrained emotions taking over. However, a noise from outside the room interrupted them as they paused from their actions, panting.

“So, more than friends, but not yet lovers?” She asked, a cheeky grin surfacing through her features. He nodded back before turning back to the campus grounds.

They were definitely more than friends, but not yet lovers.

And maybe, there were fine with it.

For now.

* * *

**OMAKE:**

“So, they’ve been placing bets on when we’ll get together,” Cana said, slipping beside Laxus on his couch in his room at his grandfather’s place. They were in his grandfather’s place as a post post-party party following the successful event. The others had to go back to the dormitory due to curfew issues and the like.

Laxus raised an eyebrow. “Someone’s placing bets on our relationship?” He asked with disbelief as Cana chuckled, nodding in response. “So, on which dates did they place a bet on?” He asked, resigning to the fact that their friends were nutshells every once in a while.

“Tonight, or next week or anytime within the next six months,” she replied, taking a sip from her beer bottle.

“Who’s keeping the books?”

“Mira.”

Laxus nodded until he scrunched his eyebrows when a thought dawned to him. “So, what will happen if nobody wins?”

Cana scratched her head, trying to remember what Juvia told her. “I don’t know. Maybe, the money goes to the Astronomy Club and varsity team,” she replied as a smirk surfaced on her face. Laxus smirked back, knowing the full reason why she was smirking.

Now, next year’s batch won’t have a problem with the budget.


End file.
